Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Systems (C2/Backend/Service)

About the Role

Join a customer-facing product engineering team building command-and-control and autonomy software for robotic and autonomous systems. You will develop cloud and edge services that help people coordinate sensors, platforms, and AI-driven decision support in demanding operational environments.

What You'll Do

• Design, implement, and optimize backend software for mission-critical autonomous systems.
• Build services and messaging that connect live external systems, sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms.
• Develop real-time data processing for sensor inputs, state estimation, and threat detection.
• Integrate LLMs and AI-driven agents into systems that assess situations and support timely responses.
• Engineer scalable, reliable, and fail-safe software for high-stakes environments.
• Work with robotics, hardware, sensing, AI, and systems engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions.

What We're Looking For

• Four to ten years of backend or service-layer software engineering experience, with recent hands-on individual contributor work.
• Experience owning core backend services such as APIs, microservices, or middleware, and building real-time data or messaging integrations.
• Proficiency in one or more of Rust, Python, C++, or Java, and a degree in computer science or a related technical field.
• Experience in autonomy, such as robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles, or factory automation, and shipping software in a rapid prototype-to-field environment.
• Practical engineering experience beyond algorithms, simulation, or machine learning research; familiarity with LLM systems, AI agents, or tool chains is beneficial.
• US work authorization without sponsorship and eligibility to obtain a security clearance.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary

$145,000 to $275,000 annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.

Location

Hybrid, based in Palo Alto, California.